Jerry Springer, the former mayor and news anchor, and host of the controversial Jerry Springer Show has died at the age of 79. The show, which was known for featuring dysfunctional families, fights, obscenities, and nudity, was on the air for 27 years, and at one point was more popular than the Oprah Winfrey Show.
Though popular with viewers, the program was controversial, with many arguing it contributed to a decline in American social values. After over 4,000 episodes, the show ended in 2018. Springer himself called it ‘escapist entertainment,’ and he often joked that his wish was for people to never appear on his show. In a defense of the show, Springer said that his guests volunteered to appear and that they could handle whatever humiliation was thrown at them.
Springer was born in a London underground railway station being used as a bomb shelter to German Jews who fled to England during the Holocaust, in which other relatives were killed in Nazi gas chambers. His parents arrived in the United States when Springer was five and settled in the Queens borough of New York City. He studied political science at Tulane University and earned a law degree from Northwestern University.
After serving in Robert F. Kennedy’s ill-fated 1968 presidential campaign, Springer entered local politics, serving on Cincinnati’s city council and later as mayor. He also worked as a local television politics reporter. In addition to the Springer Show, he hosted a radio talk show and America’s Got Talent, starred in a movie called Ringmaster, and competed on Dancing With the Stars.
Though he mulled a run for governor of Ohio as recently as 2017, Springer ultimately did not run.
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